The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1887-06-24
NO, A..

the light Of that better world, We shall
have no more regret about leaving
small, dark, damp house for one large,
beautiful and capacious. That dying min
ister in Philadelphia, some years ago,
beautifully depicted IL when, in the last
moment he threw up hls hands and cried
cut:
81 move into the nghtr'
Pass on, now, and / win show you one
more picture, and that is Stephen asleep.
With pathos and simplicity peculiar 10
the Scriptures, the text says Of Stephen:
He fell asleep.
co. you say, 'what place that was
to sleepl A hard rock under him, stones
falling down upon him, the blood stream
ing, the mob bowling. What a place it
was to sleepp' And yet my text takes
that symbol of slumber to describe his
departure, so sweet was it; so eontented
was it.; so peaceful was 1t. Stephen had
lived a very laborious life. His chief
work had been TO care for the poor
How many loaves of bread he distributed,
how many bare feet he had sandaled,
how many cots OF sickness and distress
he blessed with ministries Of
kindness and love, / do not know; but
from The way he lived, and the way
he preached, and the way he died, I
know he was a laborious Christian. But
that is all over now. He has pressed the
cup to the fast f4inting lip. He has TAX
en- the last insult from his enemies. The
last stone to whose crushing weight no is
susceptible has been hurled Stephen is
dead. The disciples come. They take
him up. They wash away the blood from
the wounds. They straighten out the
bruised limbs. They brush back the
tangled hair from the brow, and then
they pass around to look upon the calm
countenance Of him who had lived for the
poor and died for the truth.
hnww h.
driven with the hurricane until the tan
gled foam caught in the rigging, and
wave rising above wave seemed as il
about to storm the Heavens, and then 1
have seen the tempest drop and the
waves crouch, and everything become
smooth and FURNISHED as though a camp
ing place for the glories of heaven. So /
have seen a man, whose life has been
tossed and driven, coming down at last to
an infinite calm in which there was tho
hush Of Heavens lullaby. Stephen
asleepi / saw such an one. He fought
all his days against poverty and
abuse. They traduced his name They
ratified at the door-knob while he was
dying with duns OF debts he could not
pay; yet the peace of God brooded over
his pillow, and while the world faded,
Heaven dawned, and the deepening twi-
light of earth's night was only tho open.
ing twilight of Heavens morn Not
sign. NOb q tear. MOI q struggle Hu8u{
Stephen asleep.
have not the faculty to tell the wealth.
er. l can never tell by the setting sun
whether there will be a drought or not
can not tell by the blowing Of the wind
whether it VIII be fair weather or foul
on the morrow. But / can prophecy,
and I will prophesy what weather
it will be when you, the Christian,
come to die. You may have It very rough
now. 1t may be this week one annoyance,
the next another annoyance. II may be
this year one bereavement, the next an
other bereavement. Before this year has
passed you may have TO beg for bread, or
ask for a scuttle of coal or pair Of shoes;
but spread your death couch amid the
leaves of the forest, or make 1t out of the
straw Of a pauper's hut, the wolf Of the
jungle bowling close by. inexorRble
creditors jerking the pillow from under
your dying head-Christ viii come in
and darkness will go out And though
there may be no hand to close your eyes,
and no breast on which to rest your
dying head, and no candle TO lift the
night, the odor OF Gods hanging garden
will regale your soul, and at your bedside
will halt the chariots Of the king No
more rents TO pay, no more agony because
-four has gone up no more struggle with
''the world, the flesh and the devil" but
peace--long deep, everlasting peace.
stephen sleepi
Asleep in Jesus, blessed sleep.
From which none ever wake to weep;
A calm and undisturbed repose,
Uninjured by the last of foes
Asleep in Jesus far from thee
Thy kindred and their graves may be;
But there is still blessed sleep,
From which none ever wake TO weep.
You have seen enough for one morning.
No one can successfully examine more
than five pictures in a day. Therefore, we
az ~
Raphaels-Stephen gazing into heaven;
Stephen looking at Christ; Stephen
stoned; Stephen in his dying prayer;
Stephen asleep.